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Abstract

Neodymium (Nd) doped amorphous silicon nitride films with various Si concentrations (Nd:SiNx) were fabricated by reactive magnetron co-sputtering followed by thermal annealing. The time dynamics of the energy transfer in Nd:SiNx was investigated, a systematic optimization of its 1.1 μm emission was performed, and the Nd excitation cross section in SiNx was measured. An active Nd:SiNx micro-disk resonator was fabricated and enhanced radiation rate at 1.1 μm was demonstrated due to stimulated emission at the whispering gallery resonant modes. These results provide an alternative approach for the engineering of Si-based optical amplifiers and lasers on a silicon nitride materials platform.

Figures (3)

(a) Nd:SiNx PL spectrum of the sample with a Si at.% of 44 excited by a laser beam at 458 nm with a power of 1 mW. The inset shows an energy diagram of transitions in Nd ions. The red arrows indicate the observed transitions. The dashed arrow shows the nonradiative transitions. (b) Normalized PLE spectra with detection wavelength at 1100 nm for samples with refractive index of 2.13 (black), 2.16 (red) and 2.26 (green) corresponding Si concentrations of 45%, 47% and 49%, respectively. (c) Normalized PL decay traces at 600 nm for Nd:SiNx samples fabricated with Nd target powers of 0, 8, 12, 18 and 22 W (increasing in the direction of the arrow). (d) The inverse rise time of the PL at 1.1 µm excited at 458 nm with different excitation photon fluxes for a Nd:SiNx with refractive index 2.13 (45% Si at.). All samples in (a), (b), (c) and (d) are annealed at 1000 °C

(a) SEM image of a Nd:SiNx microdisk with a diameter of 9.8 μm. (b) PL decay traces of the Nd:SiNx microdisk centered at different wavelengths as indicated in the legend. Inset: PL spectrum of the Nd:SiNx microdisk (colors of the arrows indicates the colors of the corresponding PL decay traces).